Dear Future Husband
by Linnado Mikado
Summary: If a man who claimed that he was from 10 years in the future said that he was husband, would you believe him?
1. Chapter 1

_If a man who claimed that he was from 10 years in the future said that he was husband, would you believe him?_

_By Linnado Mikado_

**I don't own GA.**

_Italics_ mean thoughts of either the main character, others or used to put emphasis on words

.

_"Future husband, better love me right" - Future Husband, Meghan Trainor_

_._

* * *

It was another normal day for Mikan, she was eating lunch with her friends in the canteen and among all the hustle and bustle of the students around them, it really did feel great to have a debrief of the lesson before over a warm meal

"I don't understand Jinno sensei at all!" Complained the brunette as she stomped her foot on the floor underneath the table, "what's his problem? He didn't have to single me out like that!

"That's because you're stupid you no-star," stated Sumire over her caesar salad, "you're the dumbest in the class, of course, he's gonna pick on you."

Mikan groaned and rested her head on the table, "you didn't have to say it like **that** though, and I'm not a no-star idiot."

"You're 16 Mikan, even middle schoolers know basic algebra." Usually the quietest in the group, Hotaru was the type who said little but she made sure her words stung. And it sure didn't make Mikan feel any better.

"Hey! You-chan is 8 and he doesn't - " she stopped and drooped back into her seat, "oh wait, he does know algebra..."

Anna and Nonoko made sure to try their best in cheering Mikan up.

"If I remember correctly Mikan-chan, Youichi is struggling a bit with factorising," said Anna with a reassuring smile.

Nonoko nodded in agreement, "we saw him go to Natsume-kun for help, isn't that right Hotaru?"

"Yeah, but he's doing maths for university students because he's not stupid."

And once again tears came out of Mikan's eyes.

* * *

_"Hello, my wonderful students~" _

The sweet voice of Narumi could be heard through the intercom and brought silence to the area.

_"Can Mikan Sakura come to the High School Principal's office, I repeat, can Mikan Sakura come to the High School Principal's office, please. Thank you~"_

Everyone turned around to look at Mikan who tried her best to hide her face with her hair. Seeing her friend frozen in fear, Anna patted her on the back, "I- I'm sure it's nothing bad, Mikan."

Sumire snorted, "yeah right, I bet Jinno-sensei wants to see her because of her recent test score." Hotaru nodded silently in agreement as she munched on her pasta

Completely red in the face with embarrassment as everyone was watching her, Mikan slowly left her chair and waved a small bye to her friends and she walked towards what she thought was her impending doom.

* * *

_It's probably not that bad Mikan_

She tried to convince herself as she stood outside the grand office of her uncle, her heart was thumping violently in her chest and she tried her best to calm herself down.

_Just knock on the door, say hi to uncle and to Narumi sensei and if Jinno sensei is there then just pray to God that uncle won't let him hurt you._

Taking a big breath she opened the door and stuck her head from the side of the door to survey the situation, one thing for sure, there wasn't any sign of Jinno sensei. Instead, she saw the familiar faces of Noda Sensei, her uncle and Narumi Sensei

But also the face of the most beautiful man she had ever seen.


	2. Chapter 2

_Who on Earth is that_?

She couldn't help but mouth a 'woah' as she laid her eyes on the man standing right next to Narumi sensei. He was a few inches taller than the teacher himself, with short grey-brown hair and the most unusual pair of greyish blue eyes which were staring intensely at her. As he leaned against the wall, she couldn't help but give him a quick glance and check him out.

_He's not as good looking as Natsume _she thought _but damn is he attractive._

Speaking of Natsume, she hadn't seen him since the last lesson had ended... But anyway, she kept that thought in the back of her mind for now. Trying to avoid looking at the man who was now, much to her dismay, smirking at her, she kept her head down low and walked towards the grand oak desk where all the teachers were standing around her uncle who was sitting rather comfortably awaiting for her arrival.

"Hello Mikan," her uncle gave her a warm smile and gestured for her to sit down in front of the desk.

Trying to ignore the eyes of the mysterious man burning holes through the back of her head, she managed to squeak out a little "ʰᶦ ᵘⁿᶜˡᵉ"

The adult chuckled, "there's no need to be nervous Mikan, you're not in trouble"

"Ha ha ha.." She faked a laugh and shifted uncomfortably on her seat and leaned in towards her relative to whisper: "uncle... Who is that man?" She asked the one question burning in her mind because it wasn't every day that the academy brought in new people, and he looked 1. too young and 2. way too attractive to be a teacher, nevermind the fact that he was wearing Gakuen Alice's uniform for high schoolers.

* * *

"It's been too long Mikan."

She whipped her head around and stared at the owner of the voice. It was him, the mysterious man she saw when she walked into the room - and he knew her name! He walked behind her and wrapped 2 arms around her shoulders to envelope her in a warm hug, she felt a shiver run down her spine and froze from the surprisingly close proximity of the stranger.

"LET GO OF ME YOU PERVERT!" She blurted out as she pushed him away, to her surprise he looked unaffected by everything.

He didn't even try to hide his amusement and chuckled at her, "I was just messing around with you because you look so adorable when you're shy." He smiled warmly at her and patted her head.

Dumfounded by all the events that were taking place, she turned away from him and helplessly looked to the adults in front of her for answers. "U- Uncle, Noda sensei, Narumi sensei! W- Who is he!?"

Noda sensei cleared his throat and nervously glanced at the others, "you see Mikan san, he's-"

He was cut off by the same low voice that surprised her earlier. A strong arm slid over her shoulders and she stiffly turned her head to the side to see that boy had plopped himself next to her, looking comfortable as he leaned back carelessly into the chair.

"I'm your husband from the future."

* * *

"W- what?"

Shock registered on Mikan's face as she stared dumbly at him.

_HUSBAND!?_

She couldn't believe any of this, so this man (who by the looks of it is a high schooler like her) just appeared out of no-where and claims to be her 'husband from the future'. Her lips failed to move and she couldn't make any comprehending sounds apart from 'uh', 'um', 'eh?' and finally a:

"Huh?"

She had to blink a few times at the boy who still had his arm rested comfortably on her shoulders and a small smile playing on his lips because this was just too crazy, _things like this only happen in manga, don't they?_

"So you don't believe me?" He used his free arm to gently move the stray hairs swaying near Mikan's face and closed her mouth for her, "I arrived here this morning, isn't that right Noda sensei?"

She nervously looked at Noda sensei who was fumbling with his fingers, "he's right Mikan san... I brought him from my last visit to the future this morning."

A shout of excitement came from her right and she saw Narumi sensei thrust a fist into the air as he exclaimed: "I can't believe we found him! Noda sensei, you're amazing!" He forced Noda sensei into a tight hug and the poor teacher didn't even have a chance to resist it.

Mikan just sat there in between all the mess in the room; she had her (supposedly) 'future husband' next to her _he's wearing high school uniform there's NO WAY he could be my husband_ and 2 teachers busy hugging each other out of happiness.

She prayed to God that her uncle could be the voice of reason in this crazy situation because she just couldn't keep up with everything that was happening.

"If what you're saying is true," the low rumble of the voice of the High School principal brought silence down upon the room as he stared hard at the boy by her side, "then you really are my niece's future husband."

The boy finally removed his arm from Mikan's shoulders, allowing her to breathe normally, and folded his arms to reply to the intimidating man in front of him while returning an equally as intimidating glare.

"That's right uncle," he smirked as he said those words, "the ring on my hand proves it." He showed everyone the sterling silver wedding band on his left hand, "Mikan chose it for me saying that it complimented my hair and eyes..." He smiled fondly at the memory before looking back at the principal.

It was almost as though the atmosphere in the room had softened and Mikan could see just how genuine he looked when he spoke about the ring on his finger and she thought that _maybe, just maybe, he isn't as bad as I thought._

* * *

Minutes passed and Mikan was getting more anxious, lunch was nearly over and her friends were probably worrying about what was happening to her. She also wanted to look for Natsume, considering the fact that they shared the next lesson together and she wanted to know if he was okay.

"I just want to know some basic facts about you," her uncle was in the middle of asking her dear 'husband' a few questions, 'just so you're not a stranger to us' is what he said. "What's your name?"

There were a few seconds of silence in the room.

"Yuusuke," he replied curtly, "Yuusuke Hirai."

The adults nodded, seemingly pleased with his answer and the principal wrote down what he said on a piece of paper.

"And how old are you Hirai kun, because when Noda sensei brought you over you were wearing civilian clothes and we gave you a GA uniform so you could fit in, but obviously you do look quite young."

'Yuusuke' nodded and released an irrepressible sigh as if he was quite bored with the whole ordeal, "I'm 18, just graduated from High School."

Mikan perked up at his answer, _he married as soon as he graduated? How old am I then?_

"W- wait a minute Yuusuke senpai," she tugged slightly on the sleeve of his blazer to attract this attention, "if you're 18 then how old am I?"

He smiled slyly at her, "you're a 26-year-old puma who tried everything to get my attention."

Narumi spat out the water he was about to swallow, Noda sensei coughed out of discomfort and Mikan felt like she died inside and just stared at his smiling face dumbly.

_If he married the 26-year-old me then... THAT MEANS THAT HE'S 8 YEARS OLD RIGHT NOW!_

She felt sick to the stomach as she imagined her present self marrying an 8-year-old boy, and felt her gag reflex acting up.

"Well... That's certainly interesting, isn't it Mikan," her uncle looked at her from the corner of his eye and she felt a huge sense of shame weigh down on her shoulders.  
_(author's note: nothing wrong with an 8 year age gap, just added it because everyone imagined a 16-year-old Mikan marrying an 8-year-old boy)_

Yuusuke laughed and shook his head, "it was me who chased after her. We met when I first joined in middle school, she was in the University section of the school and was friends with someone who was like a brother to me, but over time I guess she tempted me with her charms and we got married as soon as I left High School because I didn't want to go to University." He shrugged at the end of his mini-speech as if to say 'and that's that'.

The principal narrowed his eyes as he looked at the boy, "I see that you have quite a powerful alice, I've only met one other kid with the same alice as you, and you say that the school let you leave with an alice that dangerous?"

Mikan gulped as she looked nervously between the two, the tension was growing and she could feel it getting hard to breathe.

The boy broke the silence with a yawn and looked at him lazily in the eyes, "I don't know? Would the 'you' in 10 years let students leave at 18, _Mr. Yukihara_?" As if to mock him, he put emphasis on his name and smiled as he did so.

The principal raised a brow in surprise and called the 2 other teachers together so that they could have a meeting in the room next door to 'decide on what to do with their new student as they have accumulated enough information to enrol him for as long as it's required.'

* * *

After the teachers left, it was just the two of them left in the room - Mikan and her 'beloved' Yuusuke; they were joined together, in one, by the most awkward silence that Mikan had probably ever experienced in her 16 years alive.

"This is the first time I've heard you be so quiet," remarked the other as he broke the silence, he shifted his body so that his torso was facing Mikan, both legs up on the 3-seater leather sofa and acting as support for his body weight. "You usually never shut up."

She blushed at his comment and turned her torso around to face him, both legs also on the sofa, and she sat crossed leg. He smiled coyly at her beetroot red face and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek, only to get slapped twice on the chest as her blush deepened.

"What's this? Am I not allowed to kiss my wife?" He leaned in close to her so that their noses were almost touching, only to see visible discomfort written across her face which caused him to lean back into his original position. He pursed his lips and tilted his head to the side, "everyone else believes me but why are you still suspicious?"

She said nothing but slightly shook her head.

He sighed and shook his head to fix his hair, "how sad... To think that I spent so much time trying to break the barrier between the future and present just to get to this time frame..." He fiddled with his ring, "the fact that I'm even here with intimate memories of us is enough evidence." Seeing how she reacted by going stiff when he mentioned 'intimate memories', he couldn't help but play with her a bit more. "Are you curious?"

She shook her head furiously and pushed his face away from hers, "you just remind me of someone..."

He frowned slightly but nodded, "yeah, I know... You were always like this."

Mikan couldn't help but feel a bit bad for Yuusuke, because this Yuusuke only knows Mikan as his wife, so when she thought about it _he must feel horrible right now._

"I- it's not that I hate you," he looked at her, "but for you to suddenly tell me that you're my husband... It's just..." She twirled her hair mindlessly as she thought about what to say next, "it's all a bit sudden."

He nodded in agreement, "well yeah, I guess it must come as a shock, but it was all worth it because I got to see my cute wife in her teenage years."

She blushed even harder at the sweet smile he displayed her, the closer she looked at him the more she realised just how good looking he is.

Sadly, their little moment was ruined by the entrance of the teachers.

"Mikan, I think it's time for you to return back to lessons. Hirai, stay here and we'll tell you about where you'll be staying during your visit." The principal told Narumi to guide Mikan back to class and closed the door so that he and Noda sensei could talk to Yuusuke about his stay.

Before she got up to leave though, Yuusuke entwined his hand with hers and whispered, "I'll see you later Mikan."

Leaving her to anticipate the day ahead of her once again.


	3. Chapter 3

The day was now over and Mikan headed back to her room after a rather hectic lesson. First, when she entered the classroom everyone had already sat down ready to learn and she felt really awkward when she walked to her seat near the back because everyone was watching her. Secondly, her friends just wouldn't leave her alone and kept asking about what she did in the principal's office, even Natsume asked if she was okay! (And that NEVER happens). In the end, she told them that her uncle only wanted to know if the students were happy in the high school department and asked if any changes needed to be made, to which she replied no and that everything was good.

Of course, most of them bought it, apart from Hotaru and Natsume, but it did make it really tiring for her and she wanted nothing more than to return to her special star room and just sleep.

She checked her phone, _4:13, perfect time for a nap._

After entering her room she closed the curtains and dimmed the light from her lamp, it was a Friday so she really didn't feel like changing and instead plopped down on her bed and prepared for some shut-eye.

Only to feel a lump underneath her covers.

"W- What the-"

She pulled her duvet to see Yuusuke napping comfortably on the right side of her bed while holding her teddy bear.

_WHY IS HE HERE!?_

"Yuusuke senpai!" She gently shook his shoulder to wake him up, "Yuusuke senpai, wake up!"

As if waking up from a heavy slumber, the grey-haired beauty rubbed his eyes and the nape of his neck before staring at her in the eyes. It felt like she was being violated just by his eyes, they were staring at her so intensely that she froze in her place and felt a blush threatening to creep up on her face. Beautiful silvery-blue eyes that complimented his hair perfectly appeared to shine in the darkness of the room, although he looked drowsy and rather annoyed about being forcefully woken up, as soon as he saw her he gave her a gentle yet lazy smile and yanked her arm so that she was in bed with him.

"Why'd you sound so surprised, Mikan?" He hugged her from behind on the king-sized bed with their blanket tangled up between their legs. She felt warm, almost too warm, and she knew that it was because of the massive blush across her face.

"B- because you're sleeping on my bed in my room, that's why!" She tried to escape his grip but without avail.

"I'm tireeed," he groaned, "let me sleep for a bit longer, my wife."

She had to stop herself from squealing like a little girl because at the end of the day it doesn't matter whether the future her was married to this man, he was still a stranger to the present her and she had to use her brain and put a distance between them.

As she tried to push him away she noticed the silver ring on his left hand and remembered the expression on his face when he spoke about it and for a minute, she stopped fighting him and thought about how loved her future self must feel because of this man.

Noticing that she stopped, Yuusuke pulled her so that she was underneath him which caused her to scream out of surprise. "It's your fault for leaving an opening," he smiled as he looked down on her red face, every time her blush deepened his smile grew.

"W- what are you doing?" She stammered as she felt vulnerable under his watchful eye, instead, he caressed her cheek and laughed.

"Mikan, you were so cute when you were younger."

She stared at him in confusion.

"In 10 years, Mikan, you can't live without me because the 'you' in the future loves me..." She couldn't help but notice a bit of sadness in his eyes as he said that, "and, no matter when I always see you and kiss you till neither of us can breathe, I know that everything happens because of fate and I can't change that." He drew in closer to her face to the point where she could feel his warm breath on her cheek, as she waited for what he would do next there was a knock on the door which caused both of them to freeze in their places.

* * *

"Onee chan..."

From outside the door, 2 voices could be heard. One of an unusually distressed Youichi and another (not distressed) but equally as worried Natsume.

"Idiot, open the door right now or I'll burn it!"

Pushing Yuusuke away from her she mouthed to him that he needed to hide and that she would handle the rest, only for him to completely disobey her and go towards the door. Once he opened it, Mikan couldn't imagine what Youichi and Natsume were thinking, a male, a female and a messy bed with bedraggled clothes weren't a good thing. And neither were their expressions.

Natsume was the first to speak, after looking around the room he harshly held Yuusuke by his collar and glared at him. It didn't matter that Natsume was a good inch shorter than him, he was still strong enough to deal with him head-on.

"What the fuck is going on!?" He turned towards Mikan and pointed at the man in his clutches who looked rather amused by the whole situation. "Hey, look at me when I'm talking to you!"

"N- Natsume... Good evening to you too..." She nervously turned her head around to face him and noticed the scowl on his face.

The latter clicked his tongue but didn't say anything, instead, he let go of Yuusuke and shoved him away. Youichi, who unsurprisingly hadn't said anything as soon as he entered the room, looked at the man in disbelief and pointed at him. "Mikan-nee chan, we heard you scream and Natsune-nii told me to hurry up and go to your room in case you did something stupid... But who's he?"

Mikan opened her mouth to speak but Yuusuke beat her to it. He fixed his uniform and took 2 cartons of strawberry milk from the fridge in the room, "you wanted some milk, right Mikan?" She nodded dumbly at him, confused as to what was happening but hoped that he had a plan. He handed one carton to Mikan and another to Youichi, "drink this and leave, brat" he whispered into his ear as he handed him the carton and smiled at his shocked expression.

"I brought another carton for little _Youichi_ here, I know that little kids really need to drink enough calcium in order to grow," he sneered at the kid much to Natsume's dismay.

"Oi! Idiot, who's he?" Natsume pointed rudely at Yuusuke as he asked, his patience wearing thin as he hated being ignored.

"I'm Yuusuke." He smirked at the 2, "and I'll be staying in Mikan's room for a while, so nice to meet you _Natsume."_

Mikan glared at him, "I'm sorry, _staying?_"

Natsume and Youichi both watched the situation unfold in confusion, Mikan completely forgot about her 2 guests as she yanked Yuusuke's arm and brought his ear close to her mouth. "NO ONE TOLD ME ABOUT THIS," she whisper-shouted furiously.

"It can't be helped, right?" He whispered back as he raised both hands in front of him, "I came from the future so I'm not meant to be here, what if I wandered off and did anything? I might unintentionally change the future."

Chuckling at her annoyed expression he patted her on the head, "or do you not want to get married to me?"

She spoke angrily through gritted teeth, "then why don't you leave now?"

Unkown to Natsume, he had no idea what they were whispering about and it irritated him. He dragged Youichi to come down to her room because he was worried about her, but when he saw her with this random guy with messy clothes he felt something burn up inside him and it made him feel sick.

"Ouch!" Yuusuke yelped as the tip of his sleeve caught on fire, "what was that for?"

Natsume instead glared at Mikan and turned around, "let's go Youichi, we're just wasting our time." Then he dragged Youichi away and slammed the door shut.

Mikan stared at the door in confusion, "eh? What's his problem?"

Yuusuke laughed at the whole situation, "this is like watching history replay itself!" He held his stomach and wiped some tears from his eyes, "I don't remember Natsume-nii being THAT aggressive though... Forgot how much his fire hurts."

She whipped her head around to face him, "did you just say Natsume-nii?"

He ignored her and chuckled, "and I don't remember being that unsociable when I was younger, I remember myself being more of an intimidating kid... How disappointing." He turned around to face her, a ghostly smile still lingering on his face.

_Wait a minute..._

"Did you just say 'I'?"

He looked down on her and summoned various spirits in the room which surrounded the pair, his smile now nothing more than a facade, "my name is Youichi Hijri. I am currently 18 years old but while I'm here can you please continue calling me Yuusuke?"

_You-chan in 10 years is my husband?_


	4. Chapter 4

Today just wasn't her day.

Mikan walked slowly to her first class of the day which was with Narumi sensei, but she couldn't help but think about what happened this morning and felt her face redden all over again.

* * *

**_This morning_**

Mikan groaned as she felt the rays of the sun hit her eyelids and tossed and turned as she tried to return to her blissful state of slumber. She heard footsteps from her side accompanied by the slight ruffling of clothes and slightly opened her eyes to see what was happening.

"Good morning my wife," the smile of her 'husband' greeted her, "what a beautiful Wednesday morning, right?"

She felt her face flush and tried to bury herself in the covers, "what are _you_ doing in my room? And why are you topless!?"

She heard him open the window and sigh, "didn't I tell you yesterday? I'm from the future so I'm not meant to be here, plus, the principal said that I should stay in your room during my stay because it would be too much trouble to get a room for me since I'm not actually a student and whatnot." He uncovered her blushing face from the blankets and grinned, "also, I just wanted to be with my wife."

Mikan turned away from him, "if you're not a student then why are you changing into the uniform?"

"I'm going to attend some lessons, duh." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"B- but you said that no-one was meant to see you here," she sputtered as she eyed him tighten his tie, "if people see you around school it's gonna cause trouble for me."

He ruffled her hair, "I'm just kidding," another sigh followed as he checked the time on the alarm clock beside the bed, "I'm just going to see the HSP to talk about what I should do, remember that school starts in 2 hours, I know how hard it is for you to wake up." He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead which lead to him getting slapped. Chuckling, he waved and left the room.

* * *

She slapped her cheeks and tried to forget about his sweet smile when she woke up. He had disappeared the night before after having dinner together in her room and reappeared this morning to her surprise.

_I wonder where he went... _She really hoped that he hadn't wreaked havoc anywhere because if he was anything like the present-day You-chan then he was probably up to no good.

She shook her head and carried on walking to class. On the way, she saw the present-day You-chan with Natsume, presumably on their way to class as well. She sighed as she saw them, _the 18-year-old You-chan is really different from the present-day one. _The more she thought about it, she realised that she has never seen 8-year-old Youichi show her a genuine smile, maybe apart from when he and Natsume terrorise her... But she always sees his older version shower her with lots of sweet moments.

_I guess people can change._

She arrived to class a few minutes late but to her luck, the teacher hadn't arrived yet. Smiling and waving to the whole class she walked to her seat next to Natsume who didn't even glance at her. She gave him a small wave and sat down.

It was very awkward.

_Maybe he's still mad about yesterday._

She didn't even know why he was so mad in the first place, she didn't ask him to come to her room and threaten to beat up Yuusuke (or should she say Youichi) 'senpai'. _So unreasonable,_ she huffed and turned away from him. Maybe she was being unreasonable by just blatantly ignoring him and making the atmosphere between them worse, it's not like Natsume ever greeted her, to begin with, but still, he didn't have the same aura around him as he usually did.

"Hey."

She jumped slightly and looked over her shoulder to see Natsume now facing her, he looked visibly annoyed and when he spoke his voice was rough, almost as if he had an equally as bad night as Mikan.

"W- what?"

He shrugged and turned around to face the front, "just surprised that your boy-toy didn't come to drop you off at class."

She felt her cheeks flush, _so that's why he was pissed off, he was bothered about Yuusuke..._

"Yuusuke senpai isn't my boy-toy," she grumbled and swung her legs under the desk, "don't say stuff like that about him."

He raised a brow and she could see that just from his side profile that his mood wasn't getting better, "my apologies then, " he remarked sarcastically, "let me reword what I just said, I'm surprised that your _boyfriend_ didn't come to drop you off at class."

Mikan waved both of her hands in front of her and denied everything, "he's not my boyfriend he's just a distant relative from my uncle's side who's staying in my room as his room is being prepared for him." She bit her lip as she just lied to Natsume, _technically he is a relative if we're going to get married in the future... _After all, it was Yuusuke himself who said that people weren't meant to know about him.

Natsume shifted himself and relaxed his face on his palm, "is that so?" And when Mikan raised her head to look at him, she noticed a small but visible smile appearing on his lips. She nodded and cupped her blushing cheeks with her hands.

From that moment onwards Natsume's mood had clearly lifted and Mikan felt something change in her heart.

* * *

"Welcome back Mikan!" Yuusuke loosened his tie and threw his blazer on the chair in front of the vanity table as he prepared to hug Mikan, but dropped both arms when he saw who accompanied her as she walked in.

"Why, hello there Natsume-kun." The grey-haired male had a sneering smile on his face as he greeted his fellow alice user, "didn't expect to see you here after yesterday."

Natsume glared at him, "I don't trust this idiot to walk back on her own," he remarked as he held Mikan's wrist, "someone's gotta protect her."

"Hey! I'm not an idiot!" But Mikan's comment was unheard by the two males who were both staring at each other, one had a deadly look on his face and the other was seemingly amused by the whole scenario.

"Thanks for walking her back Natsume," he then turned to Mikan, "if you wanted someone to walk you back to your room then you could've called me, after all, we do live together." He especially made sure to emphasise that he shared a room with Mikan, much to the latter's annoyance.

"I don't think she would want to embarrass herself even more by walking back to her room with her cousin." For a split second, Yuusuke's face showed visible surprise as he raised both eyebrows and glanced at Mikan, but then he recomposed himself and gave Natsume a wide smile.

"I didn't think of that at all, thank you for playing the role of the boyfriend Natsume-kun," he patted him on the shoulders and grabbed Mikan's arm so that she was on his side, "I'm glad Mikan has a wonderful friend like you in the academy."

Natsume gritted his teeth but before he could say anything his phone vibrated in his pocket.

"You should probably pick that up," Yuusuke gestured for him to answer his call, "as I walked back, I overheard a certain grey-haired kid say that he wanted to hang out with his favourite big brother."

Knowing that nothing good would come out of arguing with his upperclassman, Nastume glared at Yuusuke and stared at Mikan for a bit before walking out to answer his phone.

* * *

After Natsume left, Yuusuke enveloped Mikan in a warm hug and pinned her against the door.

"So you're cheating on me?" He gave her a cunning smile and tried to kiss her on the nose which got blocked by Mikan's hands, "I guess I was the only one who felt lonely after our separation." He faked his sadness and Mikan had to push him off her before her heart pounded out of her chest.

_Fraud, _she sighed and tried to calm herself down as he turned his back on her and walked towards the massive window near her bed, _he's so different from You-chan._

"Natsume just dragged me out of the classroom, it's not like I had much of a choice," she watched him chuckle slightly as if he remembered something funny.

"I guess that's Natsume-nii for you," his smile dropped and he looked solemnly out of the window to the vast forest down below, "he's always one step ahead."

Not knowing what to say, Mikan stared at him and couldn't help but notice how much he looks like Youichi when he's not smiling. _He looks so handsome, _she felt herself blush, _when I look at him like this Yuusuke senpai really does look like You-chan._

"Mikan," she jolted and looked at him, he stared at her for a minute before cracking a small smile, "if you keep looking at me like that I'm going to kiss you."

She shook her head vigorously and walked towards her bed to sit down. "I- I wasn't staring at you," she folded her arms and pouted slightly, "I just thinking about something..." He eyed her as if prompting her to continue talking, "why did you come to the past?"

The room went silent for a while and Mikan cursed herself for asking but before she could take back what she said Yuusuke walked over to her and pushed her down harshly onto the bed. "Ouch!" Mikan winced as she felt a strong hand grip her arm and she opened her eyes to see Yuusuke glaring at her, his silver eyes gleaming like a lion who had his eyes set on a tasty meal.

"It was definitely..." She felt nervous as he studied her face, "it was definitely to see my young wife." He had a ghostly smile on his face and used his other hand to caress her cheek. "However, even though I came from the future I still can't catch you..." She looked at him in confusion but before she could ask anything she yelped at the sudden contact of his lips with her neck.

"T- that's because-" She shivered as she felt his hand inch up her thigh, "Y- You-chan!"

He froze after she called him that and let go of her, noticing her scared expression he held her left hand and kissed it. "Forgive me Mikan, you just look so cute in your school uniform." Her blush deepened as she felt his lips graze on her knuckles. "I was just annoyed to see you flirting with Natsume-nii."

She widened her eyes, "fl- flirting!? Why are you jealous of that?" He didn't look at her and continued holding her hand, "w- we get married in the future, right? There's no need to get jealous."

He remained silent as he cupped her face, still on top of her their bodies buried deeper into the mattress of the bed and she noticed a strange air of sadness around him. "Natsume-nii..." He muttered to himself, unheard by Mikan.

"What did you say?" He looked at her and smiled sadly.

"I love you, Mikan." The silver of his eyes shone like jewels in the evening sun and he held her chin and tilted it upwards before whispering, "and that's not going to change."

Their lips touched as the sun began to set outside and Mikan felt her heart painfully beat within her chest.


	5. Chapter 5

Yuusuke sat down on the flowing grass near the Northern Forest, the sun had nearly set and he contemplated on his actions. Every time he thought about that kiss he couldn't help but feel both excited but sick to the stomach at the same time. She had basically (temporarily) kicked him out, hadn't she? He clicked his tongue in annoyance and lied down so that he was facing the orange sky, he felt the breeze sweep through his silver hair and closed his eyes as he let himself relax.

_She didn't seem mad, _he thought to himself, _she said that she wanted some time to recollect herself, you've only been temporarily kicked out while she calms down Youichi._

Eyes still closed, he furrowed his brows in annoyance. Maybe he shouldn't have gone in for the kiss, the mood was right and all but he always knew that her heart would belong to Natsume.

_That's just the way it's always been, and there's no changing that._

_Natsume-nii, _he sighed, _it's always him._

Before he could brood about the matter any longer he heard the faint sound of footsteps and he snapped his eyes open before calming himself down again. He knew exactly who it was, he's been through this situation before. Fixing himself up, he got up and walked towards the small stream behind the handful of trees where there was a small clearing famous throughout the academy for its wide variety of flowers.

And there he saw his younger self.

"Look who it is," the small kid who was inspecting all of the flowers in his hand quickly snapped his head up and faced the teenager with a look of surprise which quickly disappeared and was replaced with a poker face. "What's a little kid like you doing here at this time?" Yuusuke couldn't help but grin as he saw his younger self's defensive stance.

"I could ask you the same thing," Youichi quickly hid the flowers he was holding behind his back and glared at Yuusuke, "or do you just like peeping on little kids?"

Yuusuke chuckled and leaned on a nearby tree to observe what was happening, "are you perhaps picking those flowers for a special someone?" He pointed to the flowers hidden behind his back, "you look as if you're taking extra care into picking the right ones."

Youichi rolled his eyes and continued to pick flowers, "as if," he retorted, "now go away."

The older one smiled as if he was looking at an old photograph, a look of nostalgia was apparent on his face as he watched everything take place. "They're for Mikan, aren't they?"

This caused Youichi to freeze for a moment before he looked directly at Yusuke, his silver eyes filled with suspicion, "do you have a mind-reading alice or something? Or are you a spy who's sent to record my every move?"

The latter shrugged and bent down to pick an orange tulip from the ground, "neither." He stated as he twirled the flower between his fingers, "it's just written all over your face."

"That idiot nee-chan has been acting strange recently, you've noticed it too, right?" Youichi wrapped his mini bouquet of yellow, pink and orange flowers of varying types up with an orange ribbon he retrieved from his pocket, "she looks less ugly with a smile, so I decided to get something for her."

Yuusuke looked at him and him knowingly and remembered what happened in the past when he did the same thing back when he was an 8-year-old Youichi picking flowers in this very spot. "You shouldn't give them to her," he frowned at the kid who had his eyebrows furrowed at him, "you're so much like Nastsume that it annoys me."

Youichi shook his head defiantly, "who are you to tell me what to do?" He placed the mini bouquet in his bag and huffed when he noticed how dark it was, "are you jealous of Natsume-nii or something?" He sneered at the older one, "it's lame for someone as old as you to get jealous of a 16-year-old."

Yuusuke smirked at him and gave him a deadly glare which caused him to gulp, "I'm not meant to be doing this but I just don't want you to hate your beloved onii-chan. Take it as advice so your little heart doesn't get broken."

He then turned around and waved before walking back to Mikan's room in the blanket of darkness.

When he got back he felt a knot in his stomach as he was about to turn the corner.

He knew exactly what was happening as in the past he foolishly ran towards the high schoolers' dorms to give Mikan his little bouquet that he spent 2 painstakingly long hours collecting the flowers for.

Only to see Natsume give Mikan an even better one.

* * *

He was lucky that Mikan's mood had lifted when he finally decided to knock on her door after Natsume had left. Mikan had an enormous smile on her face which dropped slightly when she opened the door to see a bitter Yuusuke standing there awkwardly in his grass-stained uniform - she probably thought Natsume came back to say something to her.

She gave him a small smile and invited him inside, knowing that he had no-where else to go. She apologised for being so difficult earlier and shrieked when she saw the state his uniform was in.

"How did your uniform get THIS dirty!?" She threw some clothes at him and demanded that he got changed into a set of cleaner, more comfortable clothes. He smiled and told her to not apologise because it's his fault for doing something against her will. She went on her tiptoes and patted him on the head and left to prepare snacks to welcome him back.

Yuusuke had a small smile on his face as he watched her retreating figure bounce happily towards the kitchen. Before heading towards the bathroom to change, he glanced at the door, relieved that Youichi listened to his advice and didn't come. He might be a snarky 18-year-old but he honestly didn't want his younger counterpart to feel heartbreak at such a young age.

When he came out he saw a giddy Mikan smiling foolishly to herself as she placed a massive bouquet of sunflowers into a new white vase which sat as the centre-piece of her dining table. As soon as she saw Yuusuke staring at the flowers she grinned and told him all about what happened:

She was watching her favourite drama to cheer herself up when she heard a knock on her door, "at first I thought it was you!" She said as she recounted what happened, "and I got ready to open the door when I smelt burning, then I realised it wasn't you but Natsume!" As soon as she opened the door she immediately shouted at the fire-caster for nearly burning down her room then she noticed that he was holding a massive bouquet of sunflowers. He handed it to her quite roughly but she said that she 'clearly saw a tinge of red on his cheeks' and she swore she wasn't seeing things.

Yuusuke listened painfully to the happiness in her voice as she talked about how Natsume emphasised that he didn't really want to give her some flowers, and she admitted that it really wasn't like him to give anyone a present 'let alone a girl!' But after she accepted them she said that she really loved sunflowers and he gave her, 'and I swear that I'm not lying!'

"He gave me a small smile, maybe it wasn't a smile... But it was definitely something!" She sighed happily as she munched on some biscuits, "and when I asked him why he decided to give me some flowers, he told me to 'not ask any more questions Polka Dots' and squeezed my nose before vanishing."

Yuusuke was about to call it a day and drop down onto bed because he honestly didn't think he could listen to any more of this, but she wasn't finished yet:

"How did he even know that I liked sunflowers?" She squealed, "it really made my heart race!"

Seeing the unamused look on Yuusuke's face, she immediately regretted what she said and realised that she probably shouldn't be talking about how much Natsume made her heart race since he's her future husband and all. When she apologised he quickly dismissed it and said that he was just tired.

He didn't want to say it but he really wanted to throw those sunflowers away.

* * *

The next day was a holiday and Mikan decided that she was going to Central Town with her friends, Natsume included.

_I guess this means that I'm going to be alone today_, to be honest, Yuusuke didn't really mind being alone - he just didn't want Mikan to be with Natsume. The more he tried to convince himself that it was Natsume and knowing him (both in the present and in the future) he isn't the type to make moves on Mikan while there were people around, the more he realised that Natsume is a pretty unpredictable guy.

_What's even the point of coming to the past if the outcome isn't going to change? _He drank his coffee and looked out at the sky through the window, it was a beautiful morning (unlike his mood).

_How annoying. _And with that, he was more determined than ever to get things to work.

Hearing a knock on the door, he eyed the bathroom door where Mikan was getting changed and decided to open the front door to greet the guest himself. Thinking that it was Natsume, he prepared a massive speech in his head only to find a little Youichi standing outside with his little bouquet from yesterday.

"What are you doing here?" Yuusuke narrowed his eyes at his younger self in confusion, he didn't remember ever giving Mikan his flowers; as soon as he saw Natsume on the day he wanted to give them to her, he immediately threw them away. Then he realised, he had just altered the course of time, and he was now stepping on thin ice as any move he does now could seriously change the outcome of the future.

Youichi glared at him and tried to peer into the room, "is that dumb nee-chan there?"

The older one pointed at the door beside him, "she's in there, what do you want?"

Youichi showed him the bouquet from yesterday which had now lost a bit of its colour but was still vibrant. "Remember this?" He waved the flowers mockingly in front of Yuusuke's face, "it's not like I listened to you or anything, it's just that I was too busy yesterday to give them to her."

A door clicked from inside the room and the figure of Mikan Sakura came out clad in a beautiful white dress with brown sandals, as soon as she saw Youichi standing outside she gave him a wide smile. "You-chan!" She ran beside Yuusuke and patted the younger one on the head, "what's that in your hands?"

He said nothing and shoved the flowers into her arms, "Natsume-nii said that you've been feeling down lately, so how about you stop frowning you idiot nee-chan." He grumbled under his breath but Mikan still heard every word, she affectionately pinched his cheeks and admired his little bouquet.

"You-chan, these flowers are beautiful! I love the colours that you've chosen!" The younger one tried his best to hide his small smile but it was still visible to Yuusuke who stood there not knowing what to do, "I'm going to put these right next to Natsume's bouquet on the table!"

The smile soon fell from Youichi's face as soon as he saw Natsume's bouquet and Yuusuke cringed inside as he remembered the pain he felt, "Natsume-nii brought you a bouquet?" Asked the younger one in confusion.

Mikan noticed the aura emitted from him and tried to cheer him up, "totally unlike him, right? But don't worry You-chan, I love your bouquet as well! In fact," she ran into the kitchen and got a small clear vase filled with water and placed it on her bedside table, "I'm going to place your bouquet next to my bed so every time I wake up I see your wonderful flowers!"

Youichi's small smile returned and he looked at Yuusuke with a sly look, "I wanted to give them to you yesterday but this man here said not to," he pointed to Yuusuke who glared down at him, "nee-chan, is he the one who's making you unhappy?"

Mikan stared at him in surprise, "w- what do you mean by that You-chan?" She laughed nervously as Yuusuke's glare hardened.

Youichi just shrugged, "ever since he came you've been looking uglier, even Natsume-nii says so."

"Don't spout nonsense Youichi," hearing the signature deep voice of the infamous character of the academy, everyone shifted their attention to the fire caster standing by the staircase leading up to special star dorm rooms. He looked slightly out of breath and was wearing an outfit similar to Mikan's, a white t-shirt with jeans and white sneakers. He stared at the group and when he saw Mikan he walked up to her and grabbed her wrist, "let's go."

"I thought you were going as a group," Yuusuke grabbed Mikan's other arm to hold her back, "where's everyone else?" The two guys had an unpleasant aura surrounding them as they both scowled at each other.

"Of course they're not coming," Natsume retorted and then yanked Mikan towards him so that she fell into his arms, "you're her relative, right? Then act like it."

Before he answered back, Yuusuke looked at Mikan and exhaled harshly. He didn't want her to hate him, that was the last thing he wanted, so he ruffled his hair and frowned at the pair. "Yeah, it's as you say Natsume, I'm her 'relative,'" sensing the tension in the air he turned around and walked back towards the room, "have fun you two."

He didn't look at them when he heard footsteps walk away behind him, but he could feel the smugness on Natsume's face without even looking at him which annoyed him greatly. Remembering that Youichi was standing beside him, he looked at the kid and decided to do something else.

"Oi, brat," Youichi glared at him due to being called in such a harsh way, "do you really like that Natsume kid? He seems a bit deranged."

Youichi positioned himself in front of him and glowered at him, "don't say that about him, he's way better than you." Yuusuke clicked his tongue, _typical_.

"How did you feel when you saw his bouquet in the room?" Youichi raised a brow but shrugged at his strange question which irritated the latter more, "let me reword that, how would you feel if you saw Natsume give Mikan his bouquet when you were about to give her yours, wouldn't you hate him?"

The younger one looked at him strangely, "why would I hate him? Everyone already knows that Natsume-nii likes that idiot, I'm no match for him and nor do I want to do anything that will hurt him... Stop asking weird questions, weirdo."

Yuusuke rolled his eyes and slammed the door shut on his face, all he could hear from outside was the mutterings of a fuming Youichi who was rudely left alone.

"Whatever," he undid the two top buttons of his shirt and slumped down on the couch in front of the bed, "what a boring day."

Then he played the waiting-game and decided to plan for what he was going to do next as he waited for Mikan to return from her little rendezvous and while he was doing so, he realised that maybe he shouldn't have told Youichi to give Mikan his flowers a day later.


	6. Valentine's Day

**A little Valentine's day special :) **

* * *

It was finally Valentine's day in the wonderful academy of Gakuen Alice.

Breathing in the fresh air of February, Mikan Sakura merrily skipped through the school grounds with a wide smile on her face. For the past week or so, the idea of making chocolates and giving them to her favourite people in the whole entire world was always lingering in her mind.

_Valentine's day! What a wonderful day it is!~~ _She hummed happily to herself as she entered the main building where she encountered a few familiar faces.

"Mikan chan!" Anna and Nonoko waved at the brunette as they came out of the kitchen, both girls were carrying packets of chocolates in all sorts of shapes and colours wrapped in colourful paper.

Mikan returned the smile and ran up to them, "Anna chan! Nonoko chan! Who are you guys giving your chocolates to this year?"

Anna blushed while Nonoko gave her a sly smile, "it's a surprise, right Anna?" Anna looked shyly at Mikan and nodded. Mikan sighed and put both hands on her hips then grinned at them - she knew exactly who they were giving their chocolates to.

"I'm sure Yuu will love it, Anna!" She reassuringly patted the girl on the back and turned to Nonoko, "and Nonoko, everyone knows that you're giving your chocolate Kitsu-"

Nonoko hissed and covered Mikan's mouth, "that was supposed to be a secret!"

Mikan laughed as she pushed the girl away, "don't worry Nonoko, I'm good at keeping secrets~!"

"I bet you have a whole list of people who you want to give your chocolates to this year, don't you Mikan?" Nonoko, who was still holding onto Mikan, looked at the brunette with a knowing look, "anyway, where is your list?"

Mikan nodded enthusiastically, "you're right! It's all saved on my phone!" She took her phone out of her pocket and showed the 2 girls her long list of recipients, "I'm planning on making chocolates for Narumi sensei, Uncle, Ruka-pyon, You-chan-"

Anna cut her off, "you're giving some to Natsume kun, right?"

Mikan blushed, "m- maybe..." She always gave chocolates to Natsume, whether he actually liked them or not she really didn't know because he never ate them in front of her. "Anyway, I better get going to the kitchen if I want to start making them." She waved to the pair and ran towards the kitchen, ready to get Valentine's day started!

* * *

"This is so hard!" Mikan groaned as she stirred the unusually watery batter.

Hotaru, who was coincidentally also making chocolates, stared at her and sighed. "You've already messed it up, idiot," she passed her some flour, "if you put it in the oven like that then it's not going to be chocolate, it's going to be a disgusting mess."

Mikan blew the hair away from her face and wiped her sweaty forehead, "making chocolates is really hard, are you making chocolates for Ruka, Hotaru?"

The girl looked at her and smirked as she added an unusual ingredient to her batter, "naturally." Mikan shivered and laughed nervously as she saw her friend add various alice stones to her mix.

_Let's just hope that Ruka-pyon makes it to tomorrow..._

She concentrated on her chocolates and separated them into different portions for each person, she took extra care into the chocolates for two special people, Natsume and Yuusuke. She was actually only planning on making special chocolate for Natsume as a thank you for putting up with her for all these years but after some pestering from Yuusuke yesterday, she decided that she would make the future You-chan a special batch as well.

"Are those for Hyuuga?" Hotaru eyed the two separate batches suspiciously, "why have you made two?"

Mikan smiled nervously, "I made a spare batch just in case I mess up," Hotaru looked unconvinced but just shrugged as she returned to her own 'chocolates'. Mikan couldn't help but sigh out of relief that Hotaru didn't continue pushing the topic otherwise it would've gotten awkward, even though Mikan had a thought that Hotaru already knew about Yuusuke she always stressed about how she would explain to her best friend about the mysterious boy if she ever asked. After all, how were you meant to explain to your friend about your 'future husband' when even Mikan didn't believe it herself.

Shaking the thoughts away, she placed her chocolates in the oven and waited.

She hoped that today would go well.

* * *

"For me?"

It was now late in the evening and Mikan had just finished giving chocolates to her teachers and beloved senpais, now she was back in her room and wrapped in the arms of Yuusuke.

She nodded at him, "I hope you like them."

His hold on her tightened and he used his spare hand to inspect the chocolates wrapped in pink tin foil with glitter and sparkles splattered all over them. "Did you put your alice in them?" He opened one and put the heart-shaped confectionery in his mouth, his face showed no obvious emotion and Mikan looked at him nervously as he chewed on the chocolate.

"Yeah, I put in a bit of my nullification alice it... Does it taste nice?"

He swallowed it and smirked once he saw her furrowed brows, "you're going to get wrinkles if you keep doing that."

Mikan blushed at his remark and turned away from him, "just tell me if it was good or not."

Yuusuke chuckled, "they tasted great, thanks, Mikan." He pulled her closer to him and gave her another warm hug, which she returned out of pure friendliness.

_Now it's time to find Natsume._

* * *

6:56 PM and Mikan was standing outside of Natsume's room with chocolates in hand.

She took a deep breath in as she prepared to knock on his door but yelped when the door suddenly opened to reveal a post-shower Natsume with a towel in hand. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt with grey sweatpants, his hair was soaking wet and he looked at her from head to toe.

"What are you doing here?" He narrowed his eyes as he noticed the strange pink packet hidden behind her back. He pointed to it and looked at the red-faced girl in the eyes, "what's that pink thing behind your back?"

Mikan felt like punching him, he knew that today was Valentine's day, right? After all, he's the most popular 1st year in the high school department, he must've received hundreds of chocolates by now.

She chewed her lips at the thought of Natsume receiving chocolates from other girls, what if he didn't want her chocolates? She knew what he did with the chocolates every year and that was storing them in his spare room without giving them a second glance, what if he did that to her chocolates? After all, she never actually saw him eat her chocolates... Then another thought crossed her mind, what if he didn't want her chocolates?

Sensing how nervous she was, Natsume looked at her strangely and sighed. He opened the door wide enough to let her in, "come in."

As if she was on auto-pilot, Mikan walked in without giving him a second glance (which irritated the boy greatly). He clicked his tongue at her attitude and as soon as she sat down on his sofa he crouched down in front of her and gave her a stern glare.

"What's up with you? You're acting more idiotic than you usually do." Truth be told, he was actually worried about her, she looked as if she had just seen a ghost and he was mentally preparing himself just in case he needed to fight anything.

Knowing that she was going to have to give him the chocolates sooner or later, she closed her eyes and handed him the box of her homemade sweets. Not knowing what to do, Natsume stared blankly at the box.

"What's this?"

Mikan opened her eyes and slowly turned her head to look at him, he took the box and looked back at her. "What's the special occasion Polka Dots?"

She looked at him and tried to process his words, _is he an idiot? _She thought that Natsume had hit his head or something because who didn't know what special day it was today?

"It's Valentine's day chocolate... Stupid..." She watched as his eyes slightly widened, his mouth formed a small 'o' and he carefully held the box in his hands before staring at her long and hard.

"If you want me to give this to that stupid guy you're always with then you can keep your chocolates," he handed the box back to her and stood up as if he was preparing to walk away. Mikan felt her heart beat faster than ever as she saw just how badly he misunderstood the situation.

"No, wait! Natsume, I didn't make these for Yuusuke... I made them for you," she held onto the end of his shirt tightly and he turned around to face her. She swore that she saw a tinge of red paint his cheeks as he took back the small box from her hands,

She smiled at him as he opened the box to reveal 9 of her best chocolates wrapped up in pink tissue paper with pink glitter sprinkled around each chocolate. If anyone compared the chocolates given to both Yuusuke and Natsume then anyone could see that she clearly spent more time on Natsume's chocolates than Yuusuke's, despite them being from the same mix.

Natsume slowly took a chocolate out from the box and popped it in his mouth. Once he swallowed it he looked at Mikan and knocked her slightly on the head.

"What was that for!" She shouted at him as he just stood there smirking.

"I guess an idiot can cook after all," he could feel a small smile threatening to appear on his lips as he stared at the girl he wanted to hug more than anything. Her chocolates were the first chocolates he ate today, he honestly didn't think that she would give him anything this year considering the fact that that other dude kept sticking to her like glue. But he was relieved to find out that he was wrong.

"At least your chocolates from this year are edible," he noted how the chocolates were shinier and overall just tasted better than the wafer ones she gave him last year.

Mikan looks at him in shock, "wait, you ate my chocolates from last year?"

He looked at her, slightly confused by what she said, "did you expect me to throw them away?"

She shook head defiantly, "no! It's not like that, it's just that... I've never seen you eat them so I always thought that you threw them with all the other ones you receive each year..."

His heart ached a little as he saw how she truly felt every Valentine's day, but when she showed him her sweet little smile afterwards as if to say that she's okay and that she's really happy, he couldn't contain it in any longer.

So when Mikan said: "I better get going Natsume, see you later!" Natsume immediately grabbed her arm to pull her back down to the sofa.

"You're staying with me," and he possessively held her close to him. Confused by the whole situation, Mikan just pinched his cheeks and smiled.

"I'm just going back to my room Natsume, I'm not disappearing."

He sighed as he looked at her and gave her a chaste kiss on the nose. He grinned at her red face as she processed what just happened.

"N- Natsume! You!" She pointed at him but failed to say anything to the boy who continued to take great amusement in looking at her bright red cheeks. Not knowing what to say next Mikan gave him dagger eyes and ran out of the room, "I'LL DEAL WITH YOU TOMORROW NATSUME HYUUGA!"

After she left, Natsume plopped another chocolate into his mouth and smiled to himself.

He was really looking forward to next year.

* * *

Author's note:

Guess who's gonna spend Valentine's day alone?

**Me. **


	7. Chapter 6

Sorry for the infrequent updates, I've been sick for a week and just got better on Monday TT

* * *

That night Mikan came back alone, Natsume was called to attend an emergency meeting after Ruka sent him a string of rather cryptic messages saying: 'Natsume,' 'emergency,' and 'Imai.' He initially didn't want to go and was about to ignore all 3 messages from his best friend but Mikan convinced him to go and told him that they already had their fun for the day and that he should go help Ruka.

As she walked back to the dorms she recalled her little 'date' (she might as well call it that) with the fire-caster and thought about all the new sides to Natsume she had discovered just from their time together.

* * *

First, on the way to Central Town, Natsume had shown some slight concern for her and offered her his jacket which left her shocked because Natsume Hyuuga never gives anyone his clothes. Let alone show anyone apart from Ruka, Youichi and his little sister Aoi concern.

Then they went to a famous French restaurant in the academy called 'Mont Blanc', probably recommended by Ruka, and as soon as she saw the prices of the food there she suggested that they split the bill seeing how overpriced most of the food was. Natsume remained stoic at her request and told her to order anything she wanted. They had a great time, and it was the first time that she had probably ever seen Natsume show some degree of surprise - and that was when the waiter brought them salted snails. When she pointed out the look on his face he merely rolled his eyes and said that Ruka told him that they were meant to taste nice, but grinned afterwards at her expression when the desserts started coming.

And her biggest surprise after that was when she went to pay for her half of the meal, only to realise that Natsume had paid for it all.

After bickering a bit about the bill and Natsume stressing that she's being an idiot for getting so worked up about it, the sun had already set and the pair were soon strolling through the blinding lights of the bustling streets of Central Town before Natsume decided that he wanted to take her somewhere. He dragged her away to a quieter part of the town, it was a greener space with a few flowering trees and a small bridge with an Italian inspired canal flowing under it.

"I didn't know that an area like this existed in the academy!" Everywhere she looked in the area reminded her of a little European town, the cafes had little awnings with small potted trees surrounding them and the more fashionable ones that were surrounded by other couples had a high-end feel to them that Mikan felt as if she was no longer in Japan.

"Of course you wouldn't know about this area, you only come to Central Town for your sweets," he flicked her forehead gently and dragged her towards the canal where couples were waiting to get into little boats.

"Hey, Natsume! I don't only come here for my sweets... And what's this?" She noticed that they were in line for something, she peered over the head of the pair in front of her and saw them pay by card before getting into what was probably the highlight of their date. She turned to Natsume and tugged on his sleeve, "hey Natsume, I'll pay for this."

He looked at her blankly and raised a brow. When it was their turn to pay, Mikan got her card ready to pay but got beaten by Natsume who had a contactless one and paid for the two of them in less than a second. As soon as they got into the boat to get rowed away by their robot captain, Mikan crossed her arms at him and turned her cheek away from him.

When Natsume noticed this, a flicker of amusement appeared in his eyes and he shrugged carelessly at her as if to say 'two can play this game.'

As soon as he realised that she wasn't dropping her act, he ruffled his hair and turned to face her, "you can pay next time since you're so bothered by it." She eyed him and shuffled around a bit, never fully looking at him in the eye.

"It seems like you're trying your best to make sure that I'm having fun and I just want to make sure that you're having just as much fun..." She pouted and the latter was divided on whether he should try to make her feel better or take enjoyment in what was happening. Instead of being a normal 'date,' he collected a small amount of water from the canal in his palm and threw it at her.

Mikan nearly screamed when she felt the coolness of the water touch her warm cheeks. She glared at Natsume and returned the water by collecting two handfuls of it and made sure that she aimed for his face.

Natsume (being Natsume) easily dodged the attack and smiled smugly at her which caused the water throwing fight to escalate. When their little rowing trip had finished, the ride which was meant to be romantic ended up being a competition between the two on 'who can drench the other one the most.' Natsume got out of the boat first and turned the selfie camera on his phone, although his clothes were a bit wet, his face remained unscathed and only his hair was left dripping wet.

Mikan, however, was soaked through. Her white dress had stains of water left on it and her hair was left drooping, Natsume turned around to look at his partner and smirked much to her annoyance. She gave him her best dagger eyes and pinched his arm, it didn't affect him and he just laughed it off. Noticing that there was a group of people behind them, Natsume took her by the hand and the two were soon walking through the dimly lit streets on the outskirts of Central Town.

The two walked side-by-side, the air around them was chilly and Mikan (still soaked) could feel herself shivering as the evening air hit her skin. She was about to ask Nastume if they could stop by a clothes store so she could buy a jacket, but when she looked up to talk to Natsume she was hit on the face by a heavy lump of fabric.

"OUCH!" She cradled her nose and glared at Natsume, "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?"

He just shrugged and carried on walking ahead, "it's annoying when you keep shaking like that."

As soon as he said that she picked up the white hoodie from the floor and looked back at Natsume's retreating figure, "wait!" She ran up to him and gave him a huge smile, "thanks for giving me your hoodie Natsume! I guess you do have a sweet side to you." She put it on and immediately felt warm again, "when did you buy this?"

"Some time ago," he replied nonchalantly and took her by the arm, "let's go."

As they were walking, Natsume's pocket starting vibrating. At first he ignored it, but when it vibrated again he clicked his tongue and took it out of his back pocket.

"Natsume...

...Emergency

and... Imai?"

He showed Mikan his messages, "what's up with him?"

Mikan furrowed he brows and she read each individual message, it wasn't like Ruka to be so cryptic. "Maybe Hotaru is teasing him again, you should go help him Natsume."

She noticed the somewhat conflicted look on his face when she said that, like her, he was re-reading the same three messages over and over again before trying to call his friend. When Ruka didn't pick up, he sighed and placed his phone back in his pocket.

"You can walk back yourself, right?" He asked her while looking up at the night sky, there were no stars out tonight and even the moon was covered by thick clouds. Natsume did want to walk back with her, he didn't like the idea of Yuusuke waiting in her room for her, but he also wanted to check up on Ruka to make sure that he was okay but his dorm was a good few minutes walk in the opposite direction from the Special Star's dorm - and he didn't want to drag Mikan along with him either since she looked tired.

Mikan slapped him on the arm and gave him another wide smile, "I'm not a baby Natsume, of course I can walk back by myself! I'm a special star, I think I'm quite powerful with my alices."

While it was true that many students respected Mikan because of her alices, Natsume couldn't help but a feel a bit uneasy as he nodded and ran the opposite way to Ruka's dorm.

* * *

Now that Mikan was outside her room, she realised that Natsume hadn't returned yet and she really hoped that Hotaru hasn't disfigured poor Ruka. She smiled as soon as she saw her hoodie though, she's going to make sure that she wears it as often as she can because it's the first time that Natsume has ever given her clothes.

She opened the door to pure darkness, the room was suspiciously clean and there was no sign of Yuusuke.

"I'm... back?" She looked around as saw no-one, until she heard the sound of footsteps coming from the bathroom.

"Welcome back, cheater."


End file.
